Can you tell me how to get…how to get to Sesame Street?

My Grandma came over yesterday to visit G-tot and I—she brought with her a relic from my childhood. She has a small number of toys in her basement that have remained over the years as the waves of grandchildren ebbed and flowed. At least two of those remaining toys come directly from my childhood—a Cabbage Patch Kids Pony from the 80s and the item she brought over today.


A Sesame Street Playset.

With a copyright date of 1974. Which you can see if you click on the picture above. I swear.

When opened that's what you see from the outside. Check it out bigger to see Hooper's Store sign and the details in the facade. There are even nails keeping it together. Here's the inside.

That's a chalkboard in the center.

She didn't have any of the original characters that came with the set, but it doesn't matter. It's in really good condition and G-tot loves it. As soon as he saw it he was going, "Wow. Wow!" I cleaned it up and found a little bendable Elmo (also from Gam's—this time from the 2nd generation, 14 years later) and some other random figures to play with.

Two views of Bert and Ernie's pad upstairs.

A close-up of the records on the floor.

The set was most likely purchased around 1978 or 1979. I would have been a toddler at that point and safe from the potential choking hazard of the small figurines. I can still remember the Cookie Monster and Big Bird "Little People-esque" characters. I also remember the Oscar the Grouch figure was a trash can with a pop-up lid that revealed Oscar. I might have to dig around and see if I can find them anywhere. That would be awesome.

The Count's place?

Any person that EVER enjoyed Sesame Street can appreciate the coolness that is this set. I'm so excited that I can share a direct link to my childhood with G-tot and relive a piece of that joy all over again. Do any of you remember this set? Or had one?

Half of Hooper's Store (more goodies on the other wall)

The rest of the set can be seen here.

my new toy

See that beauty up there? No...not me. But, really? Why, thank you. It must be the no makeup, just out of the shower, wet head look. Actually, I'm talking about the camera. My new toy. A Canon EOS Rebel XSi.

It's fantastic. I have wanted a Digital SLR for so long. I studied photography in college and shot with a Canon (film) SLR. Awesomely enough, my telephoto lens and cable release are compatible with the new camera. This camera makes me so excited. Even JQ cannot stop playing with it. I got it the May 24 and we've already taken 834 pictures with it. Here are just a few of my favorites so far. Click on the image for a bigger view.

At the park. (taken by JQ)

My brother & his buddy after graduation. Digging the purple.

Checking out the amphibian exhibit at the zoo.

Monkey tree frog. I love the water dripping off the leaf to the left of the frog.

Flower in the zoo gardens. See the bee head poking out?

Pasta night. You must see this bigger for the full effect—the hair, the eyes, the mess.

another party guest

Don't you think for a minute that these are the only two.

pull the pickle and it vibrates

We were having a party. That's why he's wearing the hat.

who says they're just for the kids?

Sometimes I wonder who has more fun with the toys in our house,
G-man or me & JQ?

I tend to not do much post-processing work to my images after I shot them. Besides, the necessary resizing for the web, I usually just pop them up there right out of iPhoto. This image, however, needed a bit of tweaking. I really liked the original—what is up with my look of pure evil?—but the background was too distracting. With the red walls and the bright colors of the rest of the table in the foreground, the flower failed to pop. So, I desaturated all of that in Photoshop using an adjustment layer and ta-dah, a much stronger image.

I dig the onslaught of ways to see—the eye, the camera, the mirror. I also like the way none of the focal points are in full view—my face is cropped by the camera, which is cropped by the flower, which is cropped by the edge of the photo.

What do you think? Do you have one to share? Do you find yourself playing (and having fun) with your kid's toys?

grass skirts

I can't remember the last time I played a video game. Probably before Gideon was born. No, not probably—definitely before Gideon was born. I think it was Sims 2: Pets. I love me some Sims. But Sims 2: Pets? It sucked. I was bored within minutes. Not a good product for the Sims franchise.

On Saturday, while picking up Ratatouille, I rented Sims 2: Castaway. It's Sims the way Sims were meant to be. Super Fun! The premise is that you and your shipmates (I created 5 total at the start) get shipwrecked and end up on a deserted island. There are monkeys that you can interact with and tons of resources to harvest—but that's about it. Your hair grows on the island & you have to figure out how to cut it (if you want). Use the sewing kit, btw. Your clothes wear out and you have to craft new ones out of banana leaves and vines. Tools must be created from local resources. All your food? From local resources. Showers? In the ocean. Bathroom? Well, they give you an endless supply of toilet paper for that one. And those shipmates? They have to be found by you while you are out exploring the island(s).

It's awesome. And terribly addicting. Just like any GOOD Sims game is. Which is hard to handle when you have a baby. There was more than one occasion this weekend when I felt like I was skirting my parental duties. I'm sure I wasn't—it's not like Gideon was playing in the oven or anything. JQ had parenting duties under control & I tried to only play when he was napping. Do you know what you can get done when your child only naps for 40 minutes? Not much. It's due back Thursday and I have to work tomorrow night and all day Thursday. I don't think I'll get much more play time in. Maybe I'll rent it again during Christmas break.